Perhaps the biggest storyline in one of the most compelling college basketball seasons in a long time has been the greatness of the freshman class. Headlined by Duke forward Cameron Boozer, BYU wing AJ Dybantsa and Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, this year’s crop of rookies has been as dominant as any in NCAA history.
With March around the corner, below is an update to the fascinating Freshman of the Year race. While Boozer has maintained the top spot in the rankings, there has been significant movement throughout the rest of the list. Note: North Carolina 6-foot-10 forward Caleb Wilson would be in the top five, but he is sidelined indefinitely with a broken hand.
1. Cameroon Boozer, 6-foot-9 forward, Duke
Last installment: No. 1
22.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.7 steals, 58.3 FG%, 40.8 3FG%
The clear frontrunner for the Wooden Award, Boozer currently leads the ACC in scoring and rebounding. He has recorded at least 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in all 28 games this season, the longest such streak by any player in Division I this century, per OptaSTATS. In Tuesday’s 100-56 rout of Notre Dame, Boozer posted 24 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals in just 24 minutes of action. As of late February, his KenPom NPOY rating (2.988) is the highest ever recorded on the database, which began keeping the metric in 2011.
2. AJ Dybantsa, 6-foot-8 wing, BYU
Last installment: No. 2
25.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.1 steals, 53.2 FG%, 36.8 3FG%
BYU has struggled of late, especially in the wake of Richie Saunders’ season-ending knee injury. But Dybantsa has been as good as any player in college basketball. The projected No. 2 overall pick, per Hoops HQ’s latest mock, leads the nation in scoring (if the season ended today, he would become just the third freshman ever to do so). Over the past seven games, he’s averaged a staggering 30.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting 53.9 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three. Dybantsa was especially brilliant in the Cougars’ 79-69 upset win over Iowa State on Saturday, coming one assist shy of his second triple-double (29 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists).
3. Darius Acuff Jr., 6-foot-3 guard, Arkansas
Last installment: No. 6
22.2 points, 6.2 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 49.9 FG%, 43.0 3FG%
In most other seasons, Acuff Jr. would be the easy choice for Freshman of the Year. The Arkansas guard is looking to join former LSU superstar Pete Maravich as the only players in SEC history to lead the league in scoring and assists for an entire season (Maravich did so in 1969-70). In last week’s double overtime thriller against Alabama, Acuff dropped 49 points, the most by a freshman in a game against a top-25 opponent in NCAA history. It was also the most points ever scored by a John Calipari-coached player. Acuff has been named SEC Freshman of the Week a record seven times. In a 99-84 win over Texas A&M on Wednesday, he had 22 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
4. Keaton Wagler, 6-foot-6 guard, Illinois
Last installment: No. 3
18.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 45.6 FG%, 42.0 3FG%
A former four-star prospect who was lightly recruited coming out of Shawnee Mission Northwest, Wagler has established himself as a potential top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. The dynamic wing has won Big Ten Freshman of the Week six times (the second most in program history behind center Kofi Cockburn) and broke the Illini’s freshman scoring record of 494 total points in Saturday’s game against UCLA. Wagler is the only rookie averaging at least 18.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists on the season.
5. Kingston Flemings, 6-foot-4 guard, Houston
Last installment: No. 5
16.6 points, 5.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 48.2 FG%, 37.9 3FG%
Few expected Flemings to be the centerpiece of the Cougars this season, but the 19-year-old currently leads the team in scoring, assists and steals, and has shot up draft boards as a result (No. 6 in Hoops HQ’s mock). He broke Houston’s freshman single-game scoring record with 42 points against Texas Tech on Jan. 24 and now owns the school record for most total points by a rookie in a season. While the Cougars are on a mini losing streak, they are still considered one of the favorites to reach the Final Four, in large part because of Flemings.
Freshman of the Year Race Update: Keaton Wagler, Nate Ament Rising
Led by Duke’s Cameron Boozer and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, this rookie class might be the strongest in college basketball history
6. Mikel Brown Jr., 6-foot-5 guard, Louisville
Last installment: N/A
18.9 points, 4.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 41.8 FG%, 35.7 3FG%
Over his last five games, Brown has been among the most productive guards in the nation, averaging 29.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.4 steals while shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 54.0 percent from behind the arc. He has knocked down a whopping 27 threes amid that stretch. The 19-year-old, who missed eight games from mid-December to early January with a lower back injury, broke the ACC freshman single-game scoring record with 45 points in a victory over NC State on Feb. 9.
7. Brayden Burries, 6-foot-4 guard, Arizona
Last installment: No. 8
15.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.6 steals, 49.2 FG%, 37.2 3FG%
Burries had one of his best games of the season on Tuesday, helping the No. 2-ranked Wildcats erase a seven-point halftime deficit to beat Baylor, 87-80, in Waco. The sharpshooting wing finished with 24 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, and buried the dagger jumper with less than 30 seconds remaining. In Big 12 play, Burries leads Arizona in scoring (16.9 points per game) and is connecting on 38.7 percent of his threes.
8. Darryn Peterson, 6-foot-6 guard, Kansas
Last installment: No. 7
19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 47.2 FG%, 40.5 3FG%
There has been a lot of outside noise about Peterson, who’s been in and out of the Jayhawks’ lineup all season due to injuries. But when the projected No. 1 overall pick plays, he often dominates. Per 40 minutes, Peterson is on pace with Dybantsa in the scoring department, averaging 28.5 points. After requesting to come out during a game against Oklahoma State on Feb. 18, in which he had 20 points in the first half alone, Peterson has logged at least 30 minutes in back-to-back outings.
9. Thijs De Ridder, 6-foot-9 forward, Virginia
Last installment: N/A
16.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 52.4 FG%
The big man from Belgium makes his first appearance in these rankings after putting up 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting in Virginia’s emphatic 90-61 victory over NC State on Tuesday. With De Ridder leading the way, the Cavaliers have won nine straight and enter Saturday’s huge showdown with Duke just one game behind in the ACC standings. The 23-year-old forward, who formerly played in Spain, will go head to head with Boozer at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
10. Hannes Steinbach, 6-foot-11 forward, Washington
Last installment: No. 9
18.0 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 1.1 steals, 56.5 FG%, 34.1 3FG%
Steinbach, a native of Germany, ranks second in the country and first among freshmen in double-doubles with 17. He is one of just two players with eight games of 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds against Power Five opponents, along with Texas Tech’s JT Toppin. In Washington’s 79-72 win over Rutgers on Tuesday, Steinbach registered 24 points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks. If his current numbers hold, he would become the first freshman in program history to average a double-double for a season.
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